Christmas Lights
by NightingaleLost
Summary: We all celebrate Christmas differently, but one thing that never changes is the love and friendship we all receive, with maybe some romance thrown in. Oneshot stories made with Christmas spirit and a dash of holiday cheer, with different pairings.


My gift to you, dears, and yes, I'll continue to put up more for other pairings (I can't type them up that fast). So merry Christmas to you, my friends, and even if you don't celebrate Christmas, I invite you to share in the love and warmth that the holiday really means. So gather around, hug your loved ones, and have a great day.

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**~Still True~**

Stan was sick. Deathly sick. Horribly, horribly sick. He usually had a great immune system, which enabled him to evade sickness when everyone else was coughing and sniffling in bed. However, there came those times when sickness hit him, and when it did, it always hit _hard_. So now he was sick.

On Christmas night.

For three days he had been confined to his bed, tossing and sweating as he battled his reoccurring fever. Now he seemed to be getting better; he lay limply in his tightly wrapped sheets, bored. Below, he could hear his family's chattering and laughter, his father's loud, half-drunken voice accompanied by shrieks and laughter. He could even hear Shelley laughing for once. Stan glanced over at the clock on his bedside table with hazy eyes, the red glow telling him it was 9:04. So they'd already started opening presents, then.

Man, being sick on Christmas sucked.

Stan coughed raggedly, wishing his throat didn't hurt as much. Ah well, there'd always be next year to look forward to...he sighed inwardly. He'd totally been looking forward to going to Token's party with Kyle and the others...Damn, being sick _really_ sucked.

There was a rattle of the doorknob and Stan's fuzzy mind perked up a little. Maybe it was his mom, bringing him his presents or a cup of hot chocolate? Hell, he didn't even care if it was Shelley, he was getting super lonely in here.

Instead, the door opened and his best friend Kyle stepped through, a grin on his face. It dropped, however, as soon as the redhead took a good look at Stan. "Holy crap, man, you look _bad_."

"F-feel bad, too..." Stan croaked out. Kyle winced at his voice, moving forward to sit on the raven's bed. Stan tried to protest. "No...you'll g-get -_cough_- s-sick too." As if to prove his point, he dissolved into a frantic burst of coughing.

Kyle helped him sit up, patting his back until the fit had passed. He felt Stan's forehead. "Wow, you're still pretty feverish...should I just come back tomorrow?"

"N-no!" Stan choked out. He smiled slightly. "Getting pretty lonely here; e-everyone else's downstairs..."He paused, clearing his throat roughly. "_Hhmh_! H...how come you're not at Token's party?"

"Come on, and leave my best friend all alone?" Kyle affectionately nudged at Stan's head. "Super best friends, remember?"

Stan laughed, interspersed with little coughs. "That was...so -_cough_- l-long ago..."

"Still damn true, right?"

"Duh." Stan agreed and Kyle grinned along, holding up a wrapped present Stan hadn't noticed before. "You want your Christmas present?"

"Hell yeah!" Stan grabbed at it and tore open the wrapping paper as fast as his clumsy, fever-affected fingers could allow, revealing a thin box. He opened it and pulled out a hat, his face aglow. "Holy crap!" His sickness made his voice shoot up to a squeak and Kyle burst out laughing, watching as Stan shoved on the blue, red-poof-balled hat onto his head. It was a perfect fit.

The hat was an exact replica of the hat Stan had outgrown four years ago. He'd been as much attached to it as any kid would have been, and no matter how hard he'd looked for another after that, he could never find one in just his size and just as comfortable. And now Kyle had found it for him.

"You're missing something." Kyle pointed out, and Stan looked down into the box again, laughing suddenly. "Dude! Epic Mickey _and_ Black Ops? _Cough, cough_, you f-freakin' rule!" He pulled out the cases, opening them to revealing the shiny game discs inside.

Kyle only grinned. "Knew you'd like it."

Stan smiled back, then pointed across his room. "Yours...your present is on my dresser...wanna open it?"

"_Yes!_" Kyle rushed over to it, bringing it back to the bed and ripping off the paper as he sat down again. However, his excited expression quickly turned disappointed as it was revealed to be nothing more than a simple hardcover book. "Oh...uh, thanks..."

Stan grinned, tapping the cover pointedly. Kyle noticed the dull, echoing sound it made, and hesitantly opened it, the book's spine bending it immediately to the middle. His eyes widened. "Dude..."

The book had a hollow indentation carved into it, and there, nestled in tissue paper and confetti stars, was a gleaming silver watch. The wristband of it was in flexible silver sections, each intricately carved with stars and moon, and the numbers on its face were in delicate roman numerals. In place of the twelve, however, was a single shining cubic zirconia. "Oh, _dude..._"

"Kn-knew you'd like it...turn it over." Stan urged.

Kyle did as he said, and saw the seven words beautifully engraved on the back.

_'Stan and Kyle, super best friends forever'_

Stan turned toward him, reaching out to take the watch and Kyle's hand. "Wait, wait, I have to put it on you."

The redhead grinned as Stan concentrated, his fingers painstakingly shutting the clasp on it. "Man, this is so gay."

The raven chuckled and coughed, punching Kyle lightly in the shoulder. "Shut up, you Jew, you know this is the -_cough-_ b-best present ever."

"Yeah..." Kyle cast a glance at the hollow book. "What's that for then?"

Stan rolled his eyes. "So you can sneak stuff in it...and still look smart."

Kyle laughed, swinging an arm around Stan's shoulders. Stan let himself lean on Kyle. To his fevered skin, Kyle's coolness was a blessed relief. "You really had me going there for a minute, you douche."

Stan smiled, his eyes closing; he felt tired after the short burst of Christmas excitement. The weight of his new hat was both comforting and almost familiar, and he absolutely loved it.

"How much did that watch cost, anyway?"

"Not important." Stan stifled a yawn, and murmured sleepily, "Merry Christmas, Kyle."

Kyle's arm tightened around him, and the raven felt the other lean his head on his own. Below, they could still hear the voices of Stan's family, far away and in a place that was less important than where they were now. Stan almost thought he could hear bells somewhere.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Stan."

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**A/N: **I know Kyle's Jewish, but I figure him and Stan still share the holiday. BTW, all of these take place the same day.

Next: **The Perfect Gift **(Butters x Cartman)


End file.
